Insert media firm Stanton Direct, Elmira, NY, is offering a PersonalizationMall.com package insert program that targets Internet users and partners e-commerce traffic with the insert audience.
Online shoppers at PersonalizationMall.com will receive up to six inserts in their packages.
“One of the challenges with a dot-com-type of program is that when it is introduced, the company may not be very well known,” said Christie Langdon, manager of Stanton Direct’s management division. “Many traditional catalogers have established some presence by other marketing efforts, like catalog drops. Personalizationmall.com has aggressively promoted their company since its inception less than two years ago. The increase in promotions has lifted their response rate, thus increasing their package counts.”
Stanton Direct began offering the PersonalizationMall.com program in August, with annual package distribution estimated at 350,000 pieces. Most orders are sent during the holiday season, with an estimated 70,700 packages in November and 102,400 packages in December this year.
PersonalizationMall.com, Woodridge, IL, is an online gift retailer of personalized items for special events, occasions and holidays. Orders are placed via the company’s Web site. PersonalizationMall.com claims to have seen 80 percent growth in the past two years.
The online catalog industry has seen explosive growth in the past couple years. But companies do not always have long-term success. According to The National Directory of Catalogs, more than 1,400 online catalogs launched in the past year. Today, a little more than 1,300 online catalogs are available for shoppers. The National Directory of Catalogs (www.oxbridge.com/NDCCluster/theNDC.asp) is a directory of business and consumer catalogs produced in the United States and Canada.
Most personalized items from PersonalizationMall.com ship within 24 to 48 hours from the time of ordering. This means consumers receive inserts relatively quickly after making the initial purchase. The company has a range of winter holiday products like personalized ornaments and greeting cards.
The program is available from Stanton Direct for $60 per thousand, with a minimum order of 25,000 inserts. The packages are shipped throughout the United States. Buyers are 64 percent female with household incomes ranging from $50,000 to $75,000.
It is too early to determine the program’s success, Ms. Langdon said. But some marketers have placed orders with PersonalizationMall.com for multiple months, she said.
Stanton Direct has managed Overstock.com’s package insert program for more than two years.
“The [Overstock.com] program has had consistent continuations, confirming that Internet buyers respond to good paper offers, too,” Ms. Langdon said. “The pattern of customer responses is very similar to what is still considered the traditional, paper-based media.”
